Let me get this straight. There will be 12 schools in the Big Ten and 10 schools in the Big 12?
No wonder things are so mixed up in big time college football these days. And there’s nothing more mixed up than the debate about whether there should be a national championship playoff in major college football.
I want to be the first person this season who offers a salvo in that great debate. Here it is. No playoffs. I love the current system. I love the Bowl Championship Series. Don’t change a thing.
In the heart of the Southeast Conference, that is probably blasphemy. I mean if there were a playoff, it would mean more games for the powers like Florida and Alabama. Incidentally, I would like to thank the Southeast Conference for never putting a number in its name, which means schools can be added or taken away without confusion.
And here in Memphis, where our local university is salivating at getting out of Conference USA and into a big time conference, the issue is especially relevant. That is assuming Coach Larry Porter is able to revive the football program and get to the point where the Tigers would even be considered a national championship contender.
Incidentally, I would like to thank Conference USA for not only keeping numbers out of its name but keeping out compass directions as well. If Maine or Hawaii want in, no confusion.
Up in Arms?
It is true that nothing gets America’s sports fans and their radio talk-show brethren more up in arms than discussing the BCS. That’s the system that decides which college football teams play in the biggest payday bowl games.
It is unfair. It is un-American. The championship should be settled on the field. It even violates the law, according to U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah who conducted a Congressional hearing into the whole thing. America is screaming for a playoff system in big time college football.
Be careful what you wish for.
The BCS has been the best thing for college football since Knute Rockne started using the forward pass. If American sports fans kill the BCS, it will be like killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
The truth is that college football is thriving and growing in popularity every season. Television ratings for big time college football are through the roof. Even schools not in the BCS like Memphis are benefiting simply from the nationwide discussion and interest about whether they are good enough to be in one of the top conferences.
Examples to follow
Ever heard of Boise State before that school broke through the BCS barrier and started winning big time bowl games? An obscure state university in one of the most anonymous states is getting its games on national television and selling out stadiums because they play with the moniker that they are not in a BCS conference.
It could happen in Memphis too, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on our new coach.
For a quick refresher, the current system of choosing the national championship college football team is done by using computers and polls to chose the top two schools. The top two schools then play a title game sometime in January, which is scheduled about a month and a half after the Ohio State-Michigan game.
The best part of this system is that there are no playoff games. The schools go straight to the title game without all those preliminaries. It ensures the best teams end up in the big game without a playoff upset along the way to spoil the fun.
The current system is so deliciously interesting that throughout the season some of the most anticipated moments are when the BCS rankings are revealed. Even if a fan slept through the entire week of games, there’s still plenty of interest on the Monday morning rankings.
The best of both worlds
The BCS rankings cleverly combine the best of both worlds – the computer’s brains and the human brain. What better way to rank the schools that with the power of technology and people? Coaches can spend hours just examining those BCS rankings to derive ways to raise their scores.
And the truth is that the rankings just keep up the interest in college football. We love to rank things – from the hottest celebrities to the most miserable cities.
I know this nowhere near settles this great debate, and there will be plenty more talk about this subject as the season progresses But I would like to make one more suggestion. Now that the Pac-10 has added Colorado and Utah, how about re-naming it the 12-Pack.
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